


reclamation

by Nighttyger



Category: Tantei Gakuen Q | Detective Academy Q
Genre: Gen, Post-Canon, other characters present but they don’t talk so they don’t get tags, self indulgent hcs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:21:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27835198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nighttyger/pseuds/Nighttyger
Summary: If he can count on nothing else from his teachers, he can always count on them to be fair.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 3





	reclamation

**Author's Note:**

> thank you to Tachi_Sakon for encouraging me to post this.

Ryu drops behind the rest of the class as they walk down the hall towards the martial arts room. Megu gives him a questioning look - him dropping out of a conversation so suddenly might have been normal a year ago, but in the time since Pluto’s disbandment, he’s become more open, smiles more easily. And smile easily he does. She returns the gesture and turns her attention back to Kyu flailing animatedly as Kinta teases him about his lack of martial arts skills.

It only takes a few moments for Ryu to draw back next to Hongou and match his pace.

“Ah, Hongou-sensei.” 

Hongou looks down at him out of the corner of his eye. Ryu pushes away the urge to shrink back; Hongou was never fond of him, one of the first people to suspect something was wrong with him, but he was perhaps the most loyal to Dan’s vision, and Ryu knew that he would never treat him unfairly.

“Amakusa-kun.”

“I wanted to ask if I could sit today’s training session out.”

“And why is that?” Hongou raised an eyebrow at him.

Fair did not mean kind, however.

Ryu answered by lifting the corner of his shirt. He was wearing only a loose sweater today, something which probably would have aroused good-natured suspicion in Kyu if Kyu didn’t already know why. From beneath the soft knit, graciously bought for him by Kyu’s mother, rows of neatly wrapped bandages could be seen covering his torso. He only left them visible for a second, the motion easily mistook for a simple itch or adjustment, but he knew Hongou had seen.

“...Amakusa-kun,” came the expected reply after a few seconds of silence.

“Yes, Hongou-sensei?” He refused to miss a beat in his reply.

“I’m sure I don’t need to tell you why tattoos are an unwise idea in our line of work.” Hongou crosses his arms, but otherwise has no real reaction to Ryu’s most recent decision.

“Kazuma and I have been working with Maki-sensei and Doctor Dokuro to recreate Pluto’s concealer. If I need to go undercover, I can use that to cover it.”

Hongou simply grunts in reply, clearly not satisfied with Ryu’s logic. He lets the conversation sit until the rest of Q Class enters the training room several meters ahead of them, then stops in the hallway. Hongou stops as well, but doesn’t give any other indication he’s paying attention to him.

“...I had to cover up the mark.” It is all the explanation, all the justification that his teacher is going to get. He is tired of justifying himself, and he hates how he curls into himself, bowed shoulders and bowed head, hates how his voice goes quiet. This is exactly why he wanted it covered up. He is tired of living under the mark’s shadow, of living with its weight on his back.

Hongou turns to him then. Ryu doesn’t look up at first, and when he finally does, Hongou’s arms are still crossed and his face is still stern. But there is... he wouldn’t call it understanding, but...

“Heal quickly, Amakusa-kun. Too long spent away from practice will dull your skills.”

That is all the acknowledgment he will get.

“Yes, sensei.”

He smiles nonetheless.


End file.
